About a month after the murder of kollel student Rabbi Yishai Por in the study hall of the “Chazon Ish" kollel in Bnei Brak on the eve of Shavuot, detailed testimonies from his study partners have been published - revealing a complex picture of the events that preceded the tragedy.
According to reports published in the Kovetz Gilyonot publication and cited by the Behadrei Haredim website, the murderer, Guy Achtlinger, repeatedly provoked Por over issues concerning respect for the sages of Israel.
The final incident, just days before the murder, occurred when Achtlinger expressed contempt for the Ramchal - Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto, the 18th-century philosopher and kabbalist who authored Mesillat Yesharim (Path of the Just) - while Por was studying the work.
Por strongly protested. His friends warned him that Achtlinger was an unstable and dangerous individual, but he refused to remain silent.
Among the writings discovered after Por’s death was a letter that never reached its intended destination. Por had written it to call on his fellow students to strengthen their study of that very book as a spiritual protest against the disrespect expressed within the walls of the study hall. He never had the chance to post it.
On the day of the murder, Por was sitting near his lectern with a book from the Hebrew Bible open in front of him and his son beside him. Achtlinger attacked him and murdered him.
Testimonies from his friends portray him as an ascetic individual. He did not carry a mobile phone, avoided conversations unrelated to Torah study, and would walk through the streets of Bnei Brak so immersed in thought that he did not notice passersby greeting him.
On nights when young students arrived and there was no room left for him, he would move to sleep on a wooden bench in the women’s section of the study hall.
Since the outbreak of the war on Simchat Torah in 2023, Por had not slept in his own bed - according to his friends, as a sign of solidarity with the fallen and the captives.
Por is survived by his wife and son. After the murder, members of the kollel took upon themselves to complete the entire Talmud in his memory and to strengthen their study of Mesillat Yesharim - the book whose author’s honor Por had defended in his final days.